Membrane separators can be utilized to separate components from a flow stream on the basis of size, phase, charge, and so forth. Microporous membranes often employ materials having a certain porosity and pore size on the order of microns, and can have many uses including, for example, separation, filtration, diffusion, and barrier applications. These broad applications have been practically applied in medical devices, electrochemical devices, chemical processing devices, pharmaceutical devices, water purification, to name a few. The functionality of a microporous membrane is often a complex function of particular application, the structure (e.g., strength, pore size, porosity, pore tortuosity and thickness of the membrane), and the composition or chemical nature of the membrane. Often times, these and other variables of the membrane must be tailored to the particular application.